IND vs AUS | Shoaib Akhtar Mocks Suryakumar Yadav With A Savage Tweet
Suryakumar Yadav in action against AUS in the first T20I (AP)
Suryakumar Yadav pounded 80 rapid runs to lead India to a remarkable run-chase win against Australia on his captaincy debut. Facing just 42 deliveries in his innings, the cricketer whacked nine of them for boundaries and four of them for huge sixes in Vishakhapatnam to take India 1-0 up in their five-match T20I series.
A day after the high-octane T20I affair, former Pakistan speedster Shoaib Akhtar shared a hilarious commentary exchange between Ravi Shastri and Matthew Hayden, during which the latter had mocked the newly-appointed Indian skipper for his lackluster ODI record.
Akhtar praises Hayden for subtle jibe at Suryakumar
Suryakumar Yadav recently turned up for Team India at the 2023 World Cup. Holding an ODI average of just 25.76 despite 35 appearances, the cricketer failed to rescue his side at the final against Australia in Ahmedabad.
Arriving to the crease during the backend of the Indian innings, Suryakumar managed to score just 18 runs from 28 balls before Australia went on to bag their sixth World Cup title off the back of a run-chase masterclass from Travis Head.
While the 33-year-old roared back to form in his subsequent appearance against the very same opponents, albeit in a T20I of a home bilateral series, Australian commentator Matthew Hayen seemingly mocked his abysmal ODI record during his 80-run knock in Vishakhapatnam.
At one stage of the innings, fellow commentator Ravi Shastri had asked Hayden if there was any way to stop a rampaging Suryakumar, to which the former Australian opener responded:
“Tell him its an ODI!!”
The entire commentary exchange between the two former cricketers was shared by Shoaib Akhtar the following day on X (formerly Twitter). The legendary Pakistani speedster hailed Hayden for indirectly evoking Suryakumar’s recent ODI failures, including his dreadful outing at the World Cup 2023 final. Akhtar wrote:
Apart from Suryakumar Yadav, his middle-order teammate Ishan Kishan also scored an attacking 58 while lower-order basher Rinku Singh concluded proceedings with a herculean finishing act in the final over.
The Indian team, leading 1-0 in the series, will now face Australia in the second T20I in Thiruvananthapuram on November 26.
 "Aakash Saini")
